


The Kids Are All Right

by Browniesarethebest



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Gen, batfamily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-01-10 05:05:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12291879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browniesarethebest/pseuds/Browniesarethebest
Summary: Dick and Tim are de-aged. It goes about as well as anyone would expect.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to make this a oneshot, but it just keeps going and I really need to post something. So now this is a multichapter fic.
> 
> I will be updating A Robin in a Nest of Bats after this. I've started it and it should definitely be up within the next two weeks or so.
> 
> I say two weeks because its midterm month, and I'm really busy.

When the smoke cleared, Jason could only stare. Nightwing and Red Robin were lying on the ground, but they were...different.

Younger.

Jason stood there, unsure of what to do for the moment. The part of him not in shock noted that the villain was long gone, some new face in Gotham. Finally, Jason raised a hand to his ear.

“Wow, uh, Red Hood to anybody. You are not going to believe this…”

 

* * *

 

 _Everyone_ had shown up to see what had Red Hood sounding so amazed. Stephanie had cooed while Bruce had frowned. Damian snickered at Tim’s condition, but a quick look from Bruce had shut him up. The two kids were put in the back of the Batmobile and driven to the Batcave, where they now lay on the medical beds, still in their oversized costumes.

“So cute!” Stephanie squealed as she stood over Tim’s bed. She turned to Bruce. “How old do you think they are?”

Bruce, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Dick since he first saw him lying the alleyway, hummed. “Dick is about 8 or 9 years old. He was small for his age.” Bruce’s eyes slid to Tim. “If the age difference is still the same, that would make Tim about 3 years old.”

Damian snorted, and Stephanie went back to cooing over Tim and Dick while Bruce turned to Alfred, who had arrived with a box of clothing and a shopping bag on top.

“I took the liberty of digging up some of Master Dick’s old things. Unfortunately, all of your old clothing has been donated, so I went out and bought Master Tim some things.”

Bruce took the box from Alfred and set it on the table. He turned to Alfred to thank him when Jason interrupted.

“Golden Boy’s waking up.”

Everyone turned, watching as Dick’s eyes fluttered open. He sat up and yawned, rubbing one eye with a hand that had slipped out of his costume. He noticed everyone staring at him and froze, eyes darting between them in surprise. His eyes locked on Bruce.

“Bruce…” Dick whispered. “Who are they?”

Everyone deflated a little at that, Damian the most. Bruce had tensed for a moment before moving forward and sitting by Dick’s bed.

“Dick, what’s the last thing you remember?”

Dick looked up in thought. “Um, we went home after fighting the Riddler, and you tucked me in bed.” He looked over the unfamiliar people in the room. “...But that’s not the last thing I’m supposed to remember, is it?”

Bruce shook his head. “No, Dick. There’s been...an incident. I’ll explain in a moment. Why don’t you get dressed?”

Dick finally looked down and realized he was wearing too big clothes. He picked at the blue bird on the chest of the costume, intrigued. He looked up at Bruce. “What’s this?”

Bruce shook his head. “I’ll explain in a moment. Here.” Bruce picked up the box and put in on the ground. Some of your stuff is in here. Why don’t you pick something out and go change? I’ll explain everything after.”

Dick narrowed his eyes at Bruce, unsure for a moment. Finally, he nodded and hopped off the bed, nearly slipping on the pooling costume. Bruce righted him and rolled the legs of Dick’s costume up while the boy dug through the box. He came up with some clothes and waited for Bruce to finish before running off the the changing rooms. The room was left in silence until Stephanie interrupted it.

“Oh, he is so cute.” Stephanie put a hand to her cheek as Cass nodded. Jason and Damian rolled their eyes.

Dick soon trotted back into the medical bay and stood by Bruce. He looked up at the man and waited. Bruce looked down at the boy and sighed, kneeling in front of Dick.

“Dick…” Bruce thought for a moment, unsure of what to say. “You’re not really 8 years old.” Because this had to be Dick before he was 9, Bruce just knew it in his heart. “You’re supposed to be 26 years old.”

“I...what?” Dick took a step back as he stared at Bruce in shock.

Bruce’s eyes softened. “Don’t I look different, Dick?”

Dick hesitated before nodding. “Well...yeah, you do look _really_ old now.”

Jason guffawed while Bruce scowled. That wasn’t exactly what he had meant. Dick giggled at Bruce’s expression but was interrupted by Stephanie.

“Shhh! Tim’s waking up!”

Tim’s eyes blinked open, and he sat up. Just like Dick, Tim tensed when he noticed strangers’ eyes on him. He curled in on himself and eyed everyone warily.

“Hey, Tim…” Stephanie spoke softly. “Do you know who we are?”

Tim practically breathed his answer as he shook his head. “No, ma’am.” His eyes darted around the room before he noticed Dick. His eyes widened, jaw dropping, and he jumped out of the bed. He scrambled over to Dick, tripping on his costume and getting tangled in it. He somehow managed to keep the costume on as he finally stood beside Dick, looking unsure whether to stand in front of him or hide behind him.

Dick, meanwhile, was staring in surprise. He hadn’t even noticed the toddler lying in the bed next to his (he wasn’t going to mention that to Bruce though). He squinted at the kid, realizing he looked familiar. The kid stared back at him with wide eyes, obviously in awe.

“Oh!” Dick smiled. “I know you! We took a picture together at Haly’s! I promised I’d do a quadruple...flip...for you…” Dick’s eyes widened in horror as his lip began to wobble. “You were—You were in the audience that night. I—” Dick began to shake, tears building in his eyes, before he felt arms wrap around him. Dick’s eyes snapped down to see Tim still staring up at him, though he now looked sad instead of awed.

“Sorry.” Tim whispered.

Dick sniffled. “S’okay. I’m sorry you had to—had to see—”

Tim shook his head at Dick, silencing him. Dick stood there, unsure of what to say, when Alfred approached.

“Master Dick, why don’t we take Master Tim upstairs for some milk and cookies?”

“Yeah!” Dick grinned down at Tim. “Alfred’s cookies are the best! Come on!” Dick took Alfred’s hand and then grabbed Tim’s and dragged them to the elevator. The others were left standing in the Cave, processing what they had seen.

“Holy _shit_.” Stephanie breathed. She turned to Cass, Jason, Damian, and Bruce. “Did you guys know that Tim was at Haly’s that night?”

Jason, Cass, and Damian shook their heads, looking slightly concerned. Bruce didn’t move. Stephanie whirled towards him.

“You knew?!” Her tone was accusing, but Bruce wasn’t phased by it.

“After Tim told us he figured out our identities on his own, he explained to Dick how he came to his conclusion, who later explained it to me. He told us he was at Haly’s Circus that night and saw Dick’s parents fall. He knew that the Graysons were the only ones who could perform a quadruple flip, which he saw Robin execute on TV. Things pretty much fell into place after that for him. He collected new articles of Batman and Robin, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and…” Bruce paused for a moment, eyes darting to Jason. “...Jason Todd. He realized that when Nightwing showed up in New York, Robin was missing. Then when I took in Jason, there was suddenly a new Robin.” Bruce refused to go into Jason’s death and the ‘rampage’ he went on as Tim had put it back then.

“Huh.” Stephanie had a thoughtful look on her face. “You know, when you really just put in a little work, it’s pretty easy to figure out who we all are.”

“Stephanie.” Bruce warned.

Stephanie held her hands up. “I’m just saying.”

“What do we do now?” Cass asked, bringing them back on topic. Stephanie grew serious again.

Bruce strode towards the Batcomputer. “We contact Zatanna. If she can’t reverse whatever has been done to them, we track down the magic user and _make_ him reverse it.”

The others eyed each other before Jason spoke. “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to snag some of those cookies and head out of here.”

“Stay.” Cass said firmly, crossing her arms.

Jason snorted. “No can do, sister. I’m not sticking around this place any longer than I have to.”

“And miss potential blackmail on Dick and Tim?” Stephanie wiggled her eyebrows.

Jason narrowed his eyes. He was silent for a few seconds. “...Fine. I’ll stick around, but you need to send me anything that I miss, and I’m not babysitting.”

“There’s no way in hell I’m leaving you alone with them so impressionable. You might corrupt them.” Stephanie beamed. “Now come on! We could be missing potential blackmail material already!” Stephanie grabbed Cass’s hand and ran off. After a moment, Jason shrugged and followed after, albeit at a much slower pace. Damian scowled. He didn’t like the idea of Grayson and Drake being younger, but it would be fun to get blackmail on Drake. He ran after the rest of the group, leaving Bruce alone in the Batcave. Bruce merely sighed and contacted the Watchtower. He needed to talk to Zatanna.

 

* * *

 

When the others got to the kitchen, the first thing they noticed was that Tim was now dressed in better fitting clothes. He was standing by Alfred while Dick was sitting on the counter chatting away as he kicked his feet.

“—So then the toaster caught on fire. I’m not really sure how it did, but Bruce isn’t allowed back in the kitchen now. Now, Alfred makes meals and freezes them before he goes on vacation, right Alfred?”

“Of course, Master Dick.” There was a frown on Alfred’s face as he remembered that event.

Two toasters in two days…

“I think the cookies are ready to put in the oven, don’t you think Master Dick? Master Tim?” Dick nodded eagerly while Tim nodded hesitantly. Alfred put the cookies in when Dick suddenly noticed their audience. He beamed, though there was a hint of wariness to it. Tim was already hiding behind Alfred.

“Hello!” Dick waved but stayed on the counter. “So how do I know you?”

Cass stepped forward with a small smile. “I am your sister, Cass.”

Dick gasped excitedly and flung himself off the counter, doing a flip before landing in front of Cass. “Whoa! Really?” His eyes shined. “I’ve never had a sister before.” Dick looked over at the others. “Are you all my brothers and sister too?”

Stephanie shook her head. “Not me, but you are like a brother to me.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “These two are your brothers, though the big one might deny it.”

“Ohhh…So you all—” Dick’s eyes darted to Tim for a moment before going back to the others. “—work with Bruce?”

“Yep!”

“Eh.”

“I am his _partner._ ”

Cass simply nodded.

“O...kay.” Dick’s eyebrows furrowed. He suddenly remembered a question he had but didn’t want Tim to hear it. He gestured for Stephanie to bend down (because she seemed the most likely to answer his question) and whispered in her ear. “So why is Timmy here?”

Stephanie smiled sadly. “That’s a...long story. We’ll tell you later, okay?

Dick frowned but nodded. “Okay.” He was suddenly smiling again as he went over to Tim and dragged him out from behind Alfred. Tim immediately clung to Dick’s leg. Dick tried to detach Tim, but he held on. Dick frowned but shrugged it off as he dragged Tim over to his siblings.

“So I know who Cass is, but the rest of you haven’t said your names.”

“Oh, where are my manners?” Stephanie grinned and held out her hand. “I’m Stephanie.”

Dick giggled and shook her hand. He turned to the other two—they were both scowling, though the younger one’s looked more uncomfortable.

“The name’s Jason.” Jason crossed his arms and stared down Dick, who stared back. Dick squinted before looking over at Damian.

Damian rolled his eyes. “Damian.”

“Hm.” Dicked pouted. “You guys don’t seem very fun.” He turned to Stephanie and Cass. “But you guys do! Can we play a game while waiting for the cookies?”

“Of course!” Stephanie grabbed Dick’s hand. “And I’ve got just the game. Later, boys!” The four left the room, leaving Jason and Damian alone with Alfred. Damian scowled, not happy that Grayson had chosen Fatgirl over him. He decided he would join them and show Grayson that he was the better person to be around.

Jason decided he would stay in the kitchen. He would be able to get a cookie right out of the oven.

(He didn’t. Alfred swatted Jason’s hand away from the tray and let Golden Boy and the Replacement choose first.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! This got popular quickly! Thank you for all the support!

“It’s a simple spell, Bruce—designed to distract, not harm. It should wear off in a few days.” Zatanna tapped Dick’s nose, causing him to giggle. “I need to head out now—I’ve got a show I need to prepare for. If you need any help with the magic user, though, let me know. Goodbye, boys.” Zatanna smiled sweetly at them.

“Bye, Miss Zatanna!” Dick waved eagerly.

“Bye, ma’am.” Tim whispered.

Bruce frowned while Zatanna teleported out of the Cave. It was a relief that the spell wasn’t permanent, but he was hoping that Zatanna could reverse it immediately. Well, even if the spell will wear off on its own, Bruce was going to track down the magic user. There was no telling what kind of trouble he could cause in Gotham while he was loose.

While Bruce sat down at the Batcomputer, Dick was trying to get Tim to open up some more. The boy had been super quiet since he had first woken up in the Cave, only answering questions when spoken too, and always using ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’.

“Timmy, you wanna go upstairs? I could show you how to do a handstand.” Tim looked excited by the idea, causing Dick to grin. He hopped off the table he was sitting on and helped Tim down.

“We’re going upstairs, Bruce!” Dick called as he led Tim to the elevator. Bruce grunted. Dick led Tim to his room (which looked really different than he last remembered) and then let go of the boy’s hand.

“Okay. I’m gonna show you my handstand, and then I’ll help you with yours! Okay?” Tim nodded eagerly, so Dick tipped forward, planted his hands on the ground, and lifted his feet in the air. Tim clapped as Dick held it. Dick rolled back and stood, bowing and grinning.

“Now, it’s your turn!” Dick let Tim put his hands on the ground and helped him lift his legs in the air. Dick held his legs, not wanting Tim to follow over and get hurt. Tim let out a soft giggle.

“Tt.” Dick and Tim’s head snapped towards the door, where Damian was standing. Tim let out a whine and Dick gently lowered his legs to the floor.

“Hi, Damian!” Dick waved, a little nervous by the look of contempt on the older boy’s face. “Did you wanna do handstands with us?”

Damian turned his nose up at them. “I’m not some child that plays games. I especially wouldn’t willingly spend time with _Drake_.”

Dick felt Tim flinch beside him. “Hey! That’s not nice at all! Say you’re sorry to Timmy!”

“Tt.” Damian scowled. “I will not. I did nothing wrong.”

“You were being mean, and that’s wrong.” Dick puffed out his cheeks angrily. “You’re supposed to work with Bruce, but you’re just a bully, and we’re not supposed to be bullies.” Dick was trying to avoid using the word ‘hero’ around Tim.

“You don’t know anything about me.”

Dick copied Damian’s raised chin. “I know you’re a bully.”

Damian’s fists clenched at his sides. He would not lower himself to their level…

“A _stupid_ bully.”

“That’s it.” Damian stormed up to Dick. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do, but he refused to let this tinier version of Grayson mock him. Tim, seeing this, put himself in front of Dick. He was terrified of this stranger and unsure of why the older boy hated him so much, but he wouldn’t allow the mean boy to hurt Dick. Dick was his friend, and he was nicer to Tim than anyone else he had met. Damian was still angry and, not really thinking, pushed Tim out of the way. Tim fell back with a small cry.

“Timmy!” Dick knelt down beside Tim and pulled the toddler into his lap. He noticed Tim trying not to cry and glared at Damian. “See? You’re just a mean bully! Just—Just leave us alone!”

Damian hesitated for a moment before leaving, unsure of what to think of the situation. He wasn’t a bully—he was just angry. He hadn’t really hurt the child, who was Drake so it didn’t even count!

...right?

Damian frowned and was startled when Stephanie suddenly spoke, though he didn’t outwardly show it.

“What’s up, shortstack?”

Damian whirled around and snarled at her. “Nothing! I’m going to meditate.”

Stephanie watched quizzically as Damian stalked off. She shrugged, chalking it up to Damian’s usual weirdness and went to find Cass so they could plan to do something fun with the boys.

 

* * *

 

“You okay, Timmy?” Dick asked. Tim nodded, though his lip was wobbling. Dick frowned. “Damian’s not very nice, is he?”

Tim shook his head and clung to Dick. Dick almost didn’t hear him speak. “...You’re nice.”

Dick smiled. “Thanks, Timmy. You’re nice too. Does your head hurt at all? I can get Alfred to get an ice pack.”

Tim quickly shook his head, trembling a little. He whispered. “What if Damian’s wif him?”

Dick’s fury rose, but he made sure to hide it from Tim as he held the toddler closer. He didn’t understand why Damian hated Tim so much. Tim was practically a baby! Nobody can hate babies!

He was going to have to talk to Bruce about this.

“Do you want to stay here while I get the ice pack for you?” Tim was already shaking his head furiously. “Okay! Okay! I won’t!”

“Don’ leave me.” Tim whimpered. Dick was really worried now. He stood up and led Tim over to his bed, helping him up onto it. Dick hopped up beside Tim and wrapped his arms around him.

“I won’t leave you. I promise.” Dick thought for a moment. “Do you wanna take a nap? Naps are fun!”

Tim eyed Dick warily. “Will you nap wif me?”

“Of course!” Dick grinned. “I said I wasn’t gonna leave you, didn’t I?”

Tim nodded and lay down, closing his eyes. He made sure to keep a grip on Dick’s shirt as Dick lay down beside him. He wasn’t really tired, but apparently Tim was because he was quickly out like a light. Dick stared up at the ceiling, feeling Tim’s breath tickle his hand.

Not once had Tim asked for his parents. Dick wanted to bring it up but was worried reminding Tim would cause Tim to start asking about them, and he wasn’t sure how to answer that question. The others didn’t look like they wanted to bring it up either. Why wasn’t Tim asking for his parents? He obviously had them—Dick remembered meeting them at the circus—but the thought of them didn’t even seem to cross Tim’s mind.

Then there was his behavior. Unless he was talking to Dick, he would stay quiet unless spoken to, and even then he would just whisper a short answer, always ending in either ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’. He was extremely shy around everyone else. If Tim moved more than usual or made a noise louder than usual, his eyes would dart to all the people warily, and he would hide behind Dick. It really worried Dick. What kind of child didn’t like to act out? Show affection? _Talk?_

Dick eventually closed his eyes, but even asleep he still felt troubled.

 

* * *

 

Damian was going to snap.

Every time he was in the same room as Grayson, Grayson would either ignore him or stick his tongue out at him when no one else was looking (except for Drake, whose giggling _infuriated_ Damian). Every time someone looked at Grayson, he became the picture of innocence.

Damian hated it.

“Dick!” Drake tugged at Grayson’s shirt. Grayson was the only one that Drake spoke to above a whisper. “Trick pwease?”

Grayson’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! I never did get to show you that quadruple flip, huh? I can show you now!”

There was sadness in Grayson’s eyes when he mentioned the flip. As much as this younger version of his brother annoyed him, Grayson should never be sad. The sadness disappeared as Grayson grabbed Drake’s hand and led him out of the living room. Curious, everyone followed them to the gym, which had a trapeze set that Grayson sometimes used when he was particularly upset or angry.

Dick climbed eagerly to the top of the platform and grabbed a bar. He leaped off the platform and swung, performing his family’s tricks as if he never stopped. He never truly did after moving in with Bruce (seeing as Bruce built the trapeze for him in the gym), but he didn’t nearly practice as often as he did at the circus. The others down below watched with awe. Sure, Dick showed off all the time in training and on patrol, but this was more...free. Dick was flying, even without powers.

“You ready, Timmy?” Dick called out. He braced himself and swung forward, breathing deeply as he let go of the bar. He had performed the quadruple flip before, but not often. He hoped he could do Timmy proud.

He flipped once. Twice. Three times. He managed to get in a fourth flip before his hands met the trapeze bar and he was swinging back to the platform. He heard clapping below him and looked down. Everyone was clapping, though none as eagerly as Timmy was. Tim was smiling from ear to ear, bouncing subtly out of excitement. Dick climbed down and was met with Tim’s arms around his legs.

“Thank you. Thank you.” Tim breathed. Dick feeling emotional over performing his family’s signature trick, embraced the toddler. He was sweaty and kind of gross but neither child cared. Tim was just awed that he got to see _Dick Grayson_ perform for him.

Dick Grayson had kept his promise.

 

* * *

 

Dick cleaned up and sat Tim down on his bed. He wanted to talk to Tim without anyone around. The others had somewhat explained what was going on—the fact that he was supposed to be older and that they all fought alongside Batman (Dick wasn’t so sure about Jason though), but he knew they were leaving stuff out. He also knew that they hadn’t told Tim anything, not even why the toddler was at Wayne Manor instead of the Drake mansion. Tim was smart for his age though. Dick wanted to know what Tim was thinking, and he finally decided to ask Tim about his parents.

“Timmy…” Dick started. Tim gazed up at him with wary eyes, worried by the tone Dick was using. “Do you wonder why you’re here and not at home?”

Tim was silent for a moment before slowly nodding. “Mrs. Mac watches me when Mommy and Daddy aren’ home. Mrs. Mac isn’ here. Is she busy?”

Dick nodded, not wanting to make Tim suspicious. He was very observant for his age. “Do your parents leave a lot?” Dick’s eyebrows furrowed. Tim shrugged, making Dick even more confused. What kind of parents left their kid all the time? So often, too, that their toddler thought it was normal?

Dick pursed his lips. He needed to talk to Bruce about this. Tim probably lived at the Manor already as his older self, but if he didn’t, he was going to make Bruce take him in. Timmy was going to be his little brother, and Dick would take really good care of him. He was going to be the best big brother ever!

He technically was a big brother already, but it didn’t count because he didn’t remember them, and they were all currently older than him.

Dick pulled Tim into a hug and held him tightly. “I’m gonna adopt you, okay? Bruce might say no, but I’ll just sneak you into my room. I think Alfred will be okay with it. He’s good at sneaking around Bruce.”

Tim didn’t say anything, choosing to cling to Dick instead. He loved his parents and Mrs. Mac, but the idea of getting to stay with Dick Grayson was a dream come true. Besides, Dick was nicer—even nicer than Mrs. Mac. He gave more hugs and always did what Tim wanted to do. He never got mad at Tim and it was better than Tim had ever dreamed of when imagining meeting Dick Grayson again.

It made Tim really happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me prompts or suggestions at browniesarethebest.tumblr.com


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really liking updating this fic with longer chapters. It makes the writing feel better somehow.

Jason was rummaging through the fridge when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around, not seeing anyone there until he looked down. Tiny Golden Boy was squinting up at him with a look of contemplation. Jason stared back, waiting for the kid to speak. The kid obviously wanted to say something, and he wasn’t going to be the one to initiate a conversation.

“You’re mean.” Dick said slowly. Jason snorted.

“What else is new?” Jason raised an eyebrow when he realized that Baby Replacement was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s the other one? I thought he was glued to your side.”

Dick pursed his lips. “He’s taking a nap.” Dick continued to squint at him before raising his arms, causing Jason to raise his other eyebrow. Dick waited for a moment before waving his arms a little. Jason crossed his arms and leaned back against the fridge, his lips quirking up into an amused smirk. Dick huffed and sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Pick me up.”

“What’s the magic word?”

“Please?” Dick pouted.

“Actually, it was Batman. Sorry.” Jason turned around and went back to searching the fridge for food. He felt a weight land on his back and stood straight, turning his head to glare at the child on his back.

“ _What_ are you doing?”

Dick rolled his eyes. “You were being mean, and you didn’t say I couldn’t climb on your back.” Dick dug his feet into Jason’s back and climbed further, holding onto Jason’s head as he swung his legs over his shoulders. Dick righted himself, and sat comfortable on Jason’s shoulders.

So Dick had always been a little brat.

“ _Why_ are you sitting on me?”

“‘Cause you’re tall, and I like to be high up.”

Jason sighed. It looked like his search for food was going to be put on hold. Sure, he could just pluck the kid up and toss him somewhere else, but he didn’t like hurting kids, even if said kid was his annoying de-aged older ‘brother’. He glanced up to where the kid’s fingers were digging into his hair.

“So now that you’re high up, what’s your plan?”

Dick curled his fingers around tufts of Jason’s hair and tugged lightly. “We’re gonna go exploring.”

“Exploring, huh?” Jason rolled his eyes. “Where to, Dickiebird?”

Dick paused for a moment, glancing down at Jason in surprise. “Huh. No one’s ever called me that before.” He hummed. “I like it.” Dick grinned and tugged Jason’s hair toward the kitchen doorway. “Onwards, Jay! I can call you Jay, right? Take me to those dusty rooms that no one goes to. I want to explore!”

Jason rolled his eyes again but strode forward, breaking into a jog when Dick tugged his hair and cried “Faster!”

He hoped no one saw him letting Dick boss him around, and he hoped that Dick wouldn’t remember this when he was older again. He would never hear the end of it.

 

* * *

 

Tim woke up to silence.

“Dick?” He whispered fearfully, searching the room, but it was empty. He vaguely remembered Dick telling him that he might not be there when Tim woke up, but it didn’t make him feel better. He was still in a strange house, and the only person he felt safe with was gone. Tim’s lip wobbled as tears gathered in his eyes, but he swallowed them back. He was a big boy. Big boys didn’t cry.

Tim slid off the bed and crept to the door. He should wait for Dick to get back, but he was scared. Normally, he didn’t really mind being alone, but he was usually in his own home when he was alone. He didn’t want Damian coming back and hurting him again without Dick there to protect him.

Tim reached the door but couldn’t reach the doorknob. Thinking quickly, he dragged the desk chair over and climbed up. He cracked the door open before hopping down and pushing the chair out of the way. He opened the door some more and peeked out, making sure the coast was clear before padding out into the hall. He looked both ways.

Where should he go? The left led to the stairs, which went down and led to the kitchen, living room, and other rooms that always had their door closed. The right led deeper into the hallway, which broke off into two sections at the end, where he’d have to chose what direction to go in again. Where would Dick go?

Tim decided to go to the right. Dick always made sure that Tim ate before he did, so he probably wasn’t in the kitchen. He could have been in the living room, but it was silent as far as Tim could tell, so Dick probably wasn’t in there.

“Dick?” Tim called out quietly. “Where are you?”

He wandered down to the end of the hall, paused, and decided to go left this time.

 

* * *

 

“Whoa!” Jason watched as Dick stood in front of some dusty old statue of a knight that was hidden away in a room. Dick stared up at the statue for a minute before looking back at Jason. “I want to be a knight.”

Jason couldn’t help but snort. Dick would become a knight alright…

A Dark Knight.

Dick wandered around the room for a bit while Jason watched. Suddenly, Jason’s ears picked up a sound in the hall. No one ever came down this way, so Jason was wary. It wouldn’t be the first time the Manor was attacked.

“Quiet.” He whispered to Dick. Dick stood still and zipped his lips while Jason crept to the door, a hand on his gun. He peeked out, and saw a small figure making their way down the hallway. He heard the sound again and realized that it was a sob.

Jason hummed. “Looks like Tiny Replacement is crying.”

“Timmy?” Dick ran to the door and looked out. When he noticed Tim, he shot out of the door and made a beeline for Tim. Jason quirked an eyebrow as Dick gathered the kid into his arms and dragged him to the room.

“I’m sorry, Timmy! I didn’t realize how long I was gone.” Dick hugged Tim tightly and brought him over to the statue. “But look! Isn’t this cool? Bruce has all kinds of old stuff just lying around, so Jay and I have been exploring.”

At the mention of Jason’s name, Tim suddenly looked up and noticed Jason standing by the door. He blushed hard, embarrassed, and pressed his face into Dick’s shoulder. Dick patted his back.

“Oh, it’s okay, Timmy! Jay’s not as mean as I thought he was. He let me ride on his shoulders! I bet he’ll carry you too if you want him to. Right, Jay?” Dick looked at Jason with a glare, daring him to say no. Jason had to hand it to the kid. He had guts.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. If that’s what you want, kid.”

“Let’s keep exploring!” Dick grabbed Tim’s hand. “Come on!” He dragged Tim over to Jason and held his arms up again. Jason sighed and bent down, knowing that Dick would just jump onto his back again. He stood up once the kid was settled on his shoulders and looked down to see Tiny Replacement staring up at him with a hesitant hope. Jason could only look for about a second before sighing again.

“You want up, kid?” Tim nodded eagerly and held his arms up. Jason scooped him up and settled Tim in his arms.

“Where to, guys?”

Dick pointed forward. “To the next room!”

Once again, Jason began walking forward, not even bothering to close the door behind him. Alfred would be upset, but he could always say he had his hands full. Dick was tugging on his hair while Timbo was staring up at him in what looked like awe. Jason stared forward, his jaw clenching.

They better not fucking remember this when they were back to normal.

 

* * *

 

When it was time for dinner, Bruce was surprised to see Jason walk in with the two kids in his arms. He quirked an eyebrow when Jason looked his way.

Jason grit his teeth and growled. “Don’t. Say. A word.”

Bruce merely raised his coffee mug and took a sip, going back to reading the latest reports from Wayne Enterprise.

The two kids were quickly settled in their seats. Jason was going to make his getaway when he felt someone tug his sleeve. It was Dick, of course. The kid was practically radiating sunshine as he beamed at Jason.

“You should sit next to me! Please? Please, Jay?” Jason didn’t really want to, but when he saw the Demon Brat seething at him, obviously jealous of the attention Jason was getting from Dick, he couldn’t resist.

“Sure, kid.” Jason sat down next to Dick and smirked at Damian. Damian’s glared hardened, and his knuckles turned white around the butter knife he was holding.

Damian had to get Grayson’s attention away from Todd.  _Todd_. Damian couldn’t believe the man could even be in Dick’s favor. He couldn’t demean himself in front of everyone though—that would only please Todd more.

Dinner was quiet for the most part. An argument broke out between Damian and Stephanie, where she called him ‘Demon Brat’ and he called her ‘Fatgirl’. Dick frowned at both names and chided them both for name-calling. Bruce hid his smile behind his coffee mug, which was quickly snatched out of his hand and replaced with a glass of water. Bruce glared, but Alfred wouldn’t have it.

All in all, it was the most peaceful dinner they had ever had when they were all in the same room at once.

After dinner, Dick and Tim went to Dick’s room to play. Damian waited for everyone else to be distracted before approaching Grayson’s room. He knocked.

“Come in~” He heard Grayson sing, causing him to roll his eyes. He opened the door and was met with Grayson’s smile, which turned into a frown when he saw it was Damian at the door. Drake, the coward, hid behind Grayson.

“Oh.” Dick squinted at Damian. “Are you here to be mean again?”

“Tt, no.” Damian stalled for a moment by closing the door. “I came here to...talk.”

“Oh!” Dick’s eyes widened. “Are you here to apologize?”

“No!” Damian snapped. “I do  _not_ apologize.”

Dick squinted again before turning away. “Okay. You can go then.”

Damian spluttered. “I said I came here to talk.”

“And I don’t wanna talk if you’re not gonna apologize.” Dick handed Tim an action figure. “Here, you can be Superman. He’s my favorite, so you be careful, okay?”

Tim nodded quickly, his eyes darting between Dick and Damian.

“Do not ignore me!” Damian snarled. Dick flinched slightly and stood, facing Damian while making sure to keep Tim behind him.

“Why are you so _mean_?” Dick crossed his arms. “You’re not gonna make friends if you aren’t nice to people.”

“I do not need friends.” Damian said, raising his chin. “Friends are for children.”

Dick paused, his eyebrows furrowing. “But you’re a kid.”

“I am not!” Damian crossed his arms, unintentionally mimicking Grayson. “I am _not_ a child. Age does not matter. I am far superior in skills to anyone here, except maybe Father.”

Dick stared, his arms falling to his sides. “Um, I mean, that’s cool, but you’re still a kid. The definition of a kid is someone who’s twelve or under. You’re eleven, right?”

Damian narrowed his eyes. “My definition of a child is based on maturity level.  _You_ are a child. Drake is most _definitely_ a child. _I_ am not a child.”

“It’s not very mature to push someone who’s younger than you. You did that to Timmy. That makes you a child.”

Damian fumed. It was not his finest moment, pushing a child, but it was Drake so it didn’t count! Still, if... _apologizing_...to Drake won Grayson’s acceptance over Todd, he would do it.

Grayson and Drake better not remember this though.

Damian clenched his fists and took a deep breath. He glanced away, gritting his teeth. “Drake. I...apologize...for injuring you earlier.” There was no way he was going to say push. The word sounded childish, and he would _not_ sound childish.

“You gotta look at Timmy when you say it.”

Damian’s eyes snapped to Dick, and he nearly growled. “What.”

Dick rolled his eyes. “You gotta look at Timmy when you say it. You’re not saying sorry to the wall, are you? You’re saying it to Timmy.”

Once again, Damian took a deep breath. His glare moved to Drake, who shrank back. Dick glared back.

“You can’t look mean either!”

Damian clenched his jaw. His body tensed up before relaxing, and he forced a smile on his face, baring his teeth at the children. Dick and Tim both shrank back at the creepy smile.

“ _Drake_. I...am sorry...for injuring you earlier.”

Dick would have told Damian to use Tim’s first name, but he felt that Damian would snap if he did. He looked to Tim, who nodded quickly at Dick, assuring him that the apology was fine. Dick nodded back once before looking at Damian again.

“Okay. Everything is forgiven. What did you want to talk about?”

_Finally_. “You should stay away from Todd.”

“You mean Jay?” Dick frowned. “Why do we need to stay away from him? Sure, he looked kinda mean at first, but he’s cool. He took us exploring. And he let me sit on his shoulders” Dick tilted his head. “Is he, like, secretly a pedophile or something? I don’t think Bruce would keep him around if he was…” Dick murmured in concern.

“What? No.” Where the hell had Grayson gotten that idea from? “Todd is...not what you think he is.”

“Is he an alien?” Dick asked. “‘Cause if he is then that’s fine. I don’t know why Bruce would keep him around though. Bruce doesn’t like metas in Gotham, not even Wonder Woman.”

“No!” Damian took a deep breath to calm himself down. “I mean that he is a brute. I would be a _much_ better person to be around.”

Dick was silent for a moment. His eyes suddenly lit up. “Ohhh! I get it!” Dick grinned. “You’re jealous!”

“I am _not_!” Why was Grayson not understanding what he was trying to say? He was not _jealous_! “I am telling you that Todd is not the safest person to be around.”

“Why?”

“He is…” Violent? So was Damian. A killer? So was Damian. He couldn’t mention being messed up in the head because of the Lazarus Pit because then he’d have to go into a whole explanation that he did not want to get into. “Todd will hurt you.”

“Why?”

Damian had to grit his teeth to resist snapping at Grayson. Why couldn’t he just accept his explanation? “...It’s a long story.” Damian glanced at Drake, hoping that Grayson would think Damian was trying to hint his story would not be suitable for children (Grayson was infuriatingly overprotective of Drake) and drop the issue. Grayson noticed his look and nodded, though Damian could tell he was not done with the discussion.

“So since you want to spend time with us—” Damian curled his lip at the ‘us’. He did _not_ want to spend time with Drake. “—you should play with us.”

“ _No_.” Damian did not play.

“Please?” Dick pouted. “It’s more fun when more people play! I’ll let you be Batman.”

“No.” He would not degrade himself, not even for Grayson.

“Pretty please?” Dick’s eyes shined with unshed tears, displaying the famous ‘puppy-dog’ look that even Bruce couldn’t resist most of the time.

Damian stared. It was so much like Grayson when he begged, albeit with a more childish face and more tears. Damian felt a strange pang in his chest at the realization. He glanced at the door and looked back at Grayson. He sighed causing Grayson to cheer.

“Great!” Dick ran over and grabbed Damian’s hand, dragging him over to Tim, who cowered. “It’s okay, Timmy. I won’t let anything happen. Besides, Dami’s gonna be nice, right?” At that, Dick turned and glared at Damian. Damian rolled his eyes and nodded.

“I’ll be...nice.”

“Great!” Dick handed the Batman action figure to Damian. “You can be Batman, Timmy’s Superman, and I’m Wonder Woman.”

As Grayson began shouting something about Solomon Grundy attacking, Damian sighed again. This was not what he had meant by keeping Grayson away from Todd and with him instead. At least he _was_ away from Todd.

Grayson and Drake better not fucking remember this though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think? I couldn't help the little reference to Batman!Dick. It was a stupid way to reference it but I don't care. I'm keeping it.
> 
> Feel free to follow me at browniesarethebest.tumblr.com and send me some suggestions or prompts! I'd love to practice writing the Batfamily more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this took so long. I had more motivation to write for my other story and I got super busy with finals and break.

Stephanie approached him first about the issue, which surprised Bruce. He thought Dick would be the first person to bring it up.

“I’m worried about Tim.”

Bruce glanced at her but didn’t answer. He continued to compare handwriting to figure out who left the threatening letter for the mayor. Stephanie waited eight seconds before continuing.

“He’s...I expected him to be a little quiet, of course. He’s one of those rich kids who’s supposed to have really good manners and all that. You know that.” Stephanie bit her lip. “But he’s _too_ quiet, you know? I don’t like it.”

She was quiet for another eleven seconds before scowling at Bruce. “You wanna contribute to the conversation?”

Bruce spun his chair around to look at her. “What are you insinuating?” He knew what she was implying. She needed to be the one to say it though.

“It’s not natural!” Stephanie threw her hands in the air. “God, even the shy kids in my class talked more than him. And he’s, like, a toddler. Toddlers talk and babble and shit! They laugh and want to play all the time, and Tim doesn’t do any of that!” She actually wasn’t sure what children were like. She had never really been around young children except for the ones she saved and her...she doesn’t want to think about that. But she had an idea of how toddlers acted, and Tim didn’t act like a normal toddler.

Stephanie sighed. “Do you think...I mean, I don’t want to imply it, of course, but what else could it be?” She took a deep breath. “I think Tim was neglected. Emotionally. Physically. All that.”

Bruce stared at her, but Stephanie held her ground. He _finally_ spoke again. “It happens, sometimes, with the children of the wealthy. They get handed off to nannies and housekeepers. They get taken to galas where they can’t ‘act out’. Tim was already naturally quiet. His parents’ expectations did not help with that.”

Stephanie quirked an eyebrow. “Were your parents like that?”

Bruce was silent again, and Stephanie almost apologized. Bruce was the only one who ever actually brought up his parents. Bruce spoke before she could say anything. “No. They were much more lenient. They still wanted me to have good manners, of course, but they wanted me to be a child.”

Bruce turned back to the computer. Stephanie frowned at his back. She hesitated, wanting to say more but not knowing what else to say. She sighed, deciding there was nothing else to say, and left the Batcave, taking the elevator up to the study.

There was so much she wanted to do but nothing that she _could_ do. She wanted to yell at Tim’s parents. She wanted to erase the pain of Tim’s past and give him all the love that he had needed. She wanted to hit something, preferably Tim’s parents. Or Bruce.

She couldn’t do any of those things, though, and that frustrated her. The most she could do was give Tim attention now, not that it would affect his older self. The kid deserved (and desperately needed) love, though, and that was something she could do. She needed something to do.

Satisfied were her self-appointed goal, Stephanie set off to find the boys.

 

* * *

 

Damian wrinkled his nose in disgust as Jason stuffed his mouth with chips and onion dip. The TV was on some sports channel, but neither of them were really watching it. It was almost time for lunch—Alfred would not be happy about Jason ‘spoiling his appetite’—so it wasn’t like they could really do anything else but wait.

Jason swallowed the mouthful of chips and glanced at Damian. “You know, you should back off the kid.”

Damian’s head snapped towards Jason, eyes narrowing. “...Why? It’s not like you like Drake either.”

Jason shrugged. “I don’t like or not like him. He’s more tolerable than you though.” Damian opened his mouth to protest, but Jason interrupted him. “But that’s not the point. That kid up there? He’s not our Timbo. He’s just some kid who probably has no clue what he’s really doing here. Have you seen the way he sticks to Golden Boy? He’s terrified.”

Damian quirked an eyebrow. “Your point?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “You’re still bitchy towards him, but he can’t understand why or ignore you like he usually does. Besides—” Jason paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. “—he’s not...He doesn’t act like the Tim we know. Dickiebird? Yeah, I can tell that he has barely grown up in the last 20 years. Even I still act somewhat like I did as a kid. I’m sure you’ll still be a little shit in the future too, just not as little. Not done!” He pointed at Damian, who once again was about to protest. “Sure, Tim is quiet, but not this quiet. He’s not this shy or confused when Dick showers him with affection.”

Jason had noticed while they were ‘exploring’. The poor kid radiated confusion as Dick hugged and held hands and ruffled hair. Tiny Tim didn’t seem to understand why Dick was being so attentive towards him. Granted, that was just a Dick thing that’s always been there apparently, but the poor kid looked like he didn’t understand why Dick was being nice to _him_. It was unsettling and sad, to say the least.

“Just back off the kid. Once he’s all grown up again, you can go right back to competing against him for Daddy’s attention.”

“I do not—”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Jason waved a hand and stood with the chips and dip. “I’m gonna go put these away before Alfred sees.” He took a few steps before turning back and glaring at Damian. “And if you think of blabbing to him, I’ll tell everyone that you were playing with _toys_ last night with Dickiebird and Timbo.”

Damian turned beet red, but whether it was from anger or embarrassment Jason wasn’t sure. “No one would believe you.”

“Oh yeah?” Jason smirked. “I’ve got pictures.”

The roar of anger that followed was drowned out by Jason’s laughter.

 

* * *

 

Lunch was as uneventful as usual (meaning that it was somewhat eventful, but nothing too different for the family), however, when Dick and Tim tried to leave, they were stopped by Stephanie.

“Hi, guys!” Stephanie beamed at the boys. “Do you mind if I play with you today?”

“It’s fine with me.” Dick turned to Tim. “Are you okay with Stephanie playing with us Timmy?”

Tim looked uncomfortable but nodded. He still didn’t really like being around anyone who wasn’t Dick—he didn’t understand why they wanted to spend time with him. Usually, Mrs. Mac just left him alone in his room to read or sent him outside to get some sun.

“I think we should play a board game.” Stephanie suggested. “Is that okay with you guys?”

Dick cried out a “Yeah!” while Tim nodded again. Stephanie thought for a moment what they should play. Monopoly would probably be too difficult for Tim; despite how smart he was, he still was only a toddler. Candyland might work, or Chutes and Ladders. Trouble had at least a little more thinking to it, and it wasn’t as complicated as Monopoly.

“Hm...How does Trouble sound? Have either of you played it before?” Dick nodded eagerly while Tim shook his head. Stephanie smiled at the toddler. “That’s okay! We can teach you, right Dick?”

“Yeah!” Dick took Tim’s hand. “Come on, Timmy! It’s really fun! And maybe we can play Candyland after. That’s a fun game too.”

The three walked to the living room. Dick and Tim settled on the floor by the coffee table while Stephanie took Trouble down from a shelf of (rarely used, no matter how much older Dick begged) board games. Stephanie set the game on the coffee table and began to assemble the game as she explained the rules to Tim.

“We all get four little dudes here, see? They go in this little section here—” Stephanie put the blue, red, and yellow pieces in their places, guessing that Tim would want red and Dick would want blue while she wanted yellow. “To get out, you need to get a one or a six by pressing this button and hoping the die lands on it.” Stephanie pressed the button to demonstrate. “Then, you gotta go around the board, moving a piece the number of spaces based on the number you get from the die. You can send someone back by landing on them. In order to win, you need to get all your pieces in your colored column.” Stephanie pointed to one of the columns. She turned to Tim. “Does that make sense?”

Tim nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Stephanie beamed. “Great! Let’s start then! What color would you like, Tim?”

Tim bit his lip and looked at the colors, unsure. He didn’t want to pick to color Dick Grayson or Miss Stephanie wanted. He glanced at Dick, who smiled at him reassuringly. His eyes darted back to the colors.

“Um...red, pwease.” Tim whispered.

“I want blue!”

Stephanie laughed. “And I’ll take yellow.”

They began to play. Stephanie was the first to get a piece out. Then Tim. Then Dick. While Tim would let another piece out when he got a one or six, Stephanie and Dick would just move their piece forward. Whenever Tim had a chance to land on their piece and send it back to start, they’d point it out to him. Tim always looked at them nervously, but Stephanie and Dick encouraged him to do it, saying that it was fair. Eventually, Tim won the game. When he went to put his piece in the last spot in the column, Tim hesitated, eyeing Stephanie and Dick. He didn’t want to anger them by winning.

“Come on, Tim!” Stephanie urged, smiling warmly. “You won!”

Dick grinned and clapped. “Yay! Go, Tim!”

Tim blushed and put the last piece in its place.

Dick gave the boy a hug and looked at Stephanie. “Think Alfred will let us celebrate with ice cream?”

Stephanie smirked. “Kid, I’ll take the both of you out myself.”

Dick gasped excitedly and let go of Tim. “You hear that, Timmy? Steph’s gonna take us out for ice cream!” He grabbed both Tim and Stephanie’s hands and stood. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Stephanie couldn’t help but laugh as Dick dragged them out of the room.

 

* * *

 

Once again, Jason was rummaging through the fridge when he felt a presence behind him. Sighing, he stood and turned, finding two children staring up at him as they both ate ice cream. Tim, as always, was hiding behind Dick.

“What’s up, shortstuff?” Jason leaned back against the fridge and crossed his arms.

Dick took a lick of his ice cream as he stared up at Jason. “I wanna talk to you.”

“You’re already talking to me, kid.”

Dick rolled his eyes. “I wanna ask you a question.”

“Lay it on me, kid.”

Dick waited a few moments, finishing off his cone. “Dami said that you’re bad. I asked why and he explained it really badly. Why does Dami think you’re bad?”

Jason muttered. “Jesus Christ.” He pushed off the fridge. “Look, the kid is a brat. He thinks he’s better than everyone else. He’s also just about obsessed with you as much as Timbo here—he just hides it better. He wants to keep you all to himself.”

Dick’s eyes lit up. “I _knew_ he was jealous!” He suddenly frowned up at Jason. “You shouldn’t call him a brat though. Calling people names isn’t nice unless they’re nice nicknames, like Jay or Dickiebird.”

Jason snorted. “Whatever you say, kid.”

“Jason.” All three heads snapped to the doorway, wear Bruce was standing. It was only because Dick and Jason knew Bruce well enough that they could hear the surprise in his voice. Bruce walked into the kitchen and grabbed the coffee mug. Dick could practically feel Bruce hesitating before he spoke again. “I thought you would have left by now.”

Jason quirked an eyebrow. “Is that what you want, old man?”

“Of course not. I’m just surprised. You usually don’t like to stick around.”

Jason was once again leaning against the fridge. “Yeah, well, it’s pretty interesting around here at the moment.” He eyed the two boys. “Besides, my presence makes the demon brat squirm, and that’s always a plus.”

“No name-calling.” Dick chastised, causing Jason to roll his eyes while Bruce hid his smirk in his mug. Dick suddenly had an idea and ran over to Bruce. Tim just barely managed to hold on to Dick’s shirt and follow. “Bruce! Bruce! It’s almost naptime for Timmy, and I’m gonna join him. Did you know that Timmy’s never heard of Little Red Riding Hood? Will you read it to us? Please? Please?”

Jason turned his face away and snorted at the constipated look on Bruce’s face. Bruce, who hadn’t been able to say ‘no’ to Dick’s puppy-dog eyes years ago, definitely could not say ‘no’ now. He sighed, causing Dick to cheer.

“Thanks, Bruce!” Dick grabbed Tim’s hand. “Come on, Timmy. Let’s go get ready so that Bruce can read us a story!”

Dick ran out of the room, dragging Tim with him and leaving Jason and Bruce alone. It was silent.

“...You never read  _me_ bedtime stories.”

“Shut up, Jason.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me suggestions or prompts at browniesarethebest.tumblr.com. I'd love to practice some more with the Batfamily!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the late update. School got really hectic, and I started getting requests (yay!) so that has taken up some of my time.
> 
> This may seem like an abrupt end to the fic. I just didn't know what else to do without using ideas that I had for another de-age fic.

Storytelling and naptime had been uneventful. The afternoon had been somewhat more interesting. Stephanie played another game with them. Cass, Jason, and Damian had joined, which had ended in disaster. Damian was _not_ happy about being sent back to the beginning of Candyland when he was winning. Jason, of course, had teased him.

Jason now had a giant bruise on his face.

There was really no way to let Tim win, and Stephanie was pretty sure Damian would throw a fit if he had won. Cass ended up winning, which Stephanie felt was for the best. Damian couldn’t get mad at her, and Jason wouldn’t tease her.

After the game, Dick wandered off with Tim to find Bruce. Dick felt as if he had barely seen Bruce, and that...that hurt. Even though he was supposed to be older and all that, he still only remembered being 8 years old. His parents really hadn’t died _that_ long ago. While it was nice that there were a lot of older people in the mansion being nice to him, he really just wanted Bruce. Bruce understood him. He was reluctant to admit it, but Bruce was like a dad to him, and he missed Bruce.

So Dick made his way to the Batcave with Tim, knowing that Bruce would be down there like always. They still hadn’t really explained the cave to Tim, and he hadn’t asked. Dick suspected that Tim knew more than he let on.

Dick found Bruce by the computer and trotted over to him. “Hi, Bruce!” Dick beamed up at the man while Tim stood behind him.

Bruce turned to Dick and looked at him in confusion. “Did you need something, Dick?”

Dick huffed and jutted his chin. “You’ve been ignoring us. Besides the bedtime story.”

“I haven’t been ignoring you, Dick. I’ve been looking for the sorcerer that did this.”

“Is he still in Gotham?” Dick asked, peering up at the screen.

“He is.” Bruce answered. “He’s mostly been playing tricks. As far as I can tell, he’s just having ‘fun’, but those kinds of people can end up being the most dangerous. I need to catch him before he causes any real damage.”

“Can’t you send out one of the others?” Dick pouted and leaned on the armrest on Bruce’s chair. “I feel like I haven’t seen you at _all_.” He paused and looked down, biting his lip. Bruce almost missed what he said. “I miss you.”

Bruce stiffened, his eyes just barely widening in shock. He should have known—should have remembered—how attached Dick had been once the child had warmed up to him. Maybe Dick wasn’t feeling as cheerful as he seemed. It would make sense. Dick always tried to pretend that he was fine.

Bruce wasn’t sure what to do. He should being going after the sorcerer, but Bruce had learned the hard way not to ignore his kid for a case.

Plus, he was pretty sure that Alfred would be angry if he found out that Bruce had brushed Dick off.

Bruce sighed and pushed back from the computer. The surprised but radiant smile on Dick’s face made taking a break worth it.

He faced Dick and Tim, who was still hiding behind the older boy. “What would you like to do?”

Dick thought for a moment. “I guess we can’t go to a museum or anything like that, right? Since people would either recognize us or wonder why Bruce is with two random kids?” Bruce nodded, causing Dick to sigh. He thought for a moment. “Can we have a movie marathon? Just the three of us? I like the others, but I don’t really know them, you know?”

Bruce smiled. “I think that can be arranged.”

 

* * *

 

Bruce was beginning to regret his decision.

Since Tim was only a toddler, they could only watch toddler-appropriate movies. Tim didn’t even really look like he was enjoying them. Sure, he laughed quietly every once in a while at a joke (that only a child or older Dick could enjoy), but Tim mostly stared at the screen. Dick seemed to be the only one having fun.

It didn’t help that Dick had already made Bruce watch Disney movies _all the time_ as a child (and a teenager and an adult). He basically knew the lines by heart at this point.

At least Bruce made sure that the Lion King and Bambi weren’t played.

He hated Bambi.

Finally, after about the sixth movie—with a break for dinner after the third one—Dick and Tim started nodding off. Dick started to mention putting _Mulan_ in next, but Bruce interrupted him. He was done with watching movies.

“I think it’s time the two of you went to bed.”

“Aww! But I wanna watch another movie.” Dick whined, pouting.

“I don’t think Tim can make it through another one.” Bruce nodded towards the toddler, who could barely keep his eyes open. Dick took one look at the other boy and sighed. He wouldn’t make Tim stay up any longer if he was tired.

“ _Fine_. But you have to read us another bedtime story.”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “Fine. _One_ bedtime story.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“Deal.” Dick grinned and grabbed Tim’s hand. “Come on, Timmy! Let’s go pick out some stories for Bruce to read!”

Dick dragged the boy off while Bruce followed at a slower pace. He felt a little strange reading bedtime stories again, especially since he hadn’t done it since Dick was 10, and the boy had decided he was too old for bedtime stories. He knew Dick had to be dying for a story about Batman, or maybe even one about Dick being older, but he couldn’t ask in front of Tim. It wouldn’t matter anyway. They’d be back to normal soon.

It was kind of...nice, though, reading bedtime stories again. He never could do it for the others, as they were too old for them by the time they came to the Manor. It was nice to see Dick young again, full of light and unaware of the hardships he’d face in the future. Seeing Tim so young was actually kind of terrifying—he had never had to take care of a child that young before—but it was also nice to see Tim being a child, albeit an incredibly shy one.

“Come on, Bruce! You’re so _slow_!” Bruce grinned and quickened his steps. Dick would only complain more if he didn’t.

 

* * *

 

Dick woke up with a cry, tears streaming down his face. For a moment, he didn’t know where he was. He could only remember the circus. The screams. The ground slick with blood.

The terrified breathing next to him brought him back to reality. His eyes snapped to the figure beside him. As his eyes adjusted, he could just see Timmy staring back at him with wide, teary eyes.

Dick sniffled and wiped at his eyes. “Did I scare you?” Tim shook his head quickly. Dick furrowed his eyebrows. Surely, his nightmare must have scared Tim. Unless… “Did you have a nightmare too?”

Tim hesitated before nodding. He sniffled quietly and rubbed his nose with his sleeve. Dick watched for a moment before gently grabbing Tim’s free hand. He slid off the bed and helped Tim slide off.

“Come on. I always go to Bruce when I have a nightmare. He’s good at keeping them away.”

“But...” Tim really didn’t want to bother Mr. Wayne. What if he got mad? He didn’t want to upset Dick either, though, by saying no. Tim bit his lip and gripped Dick’s hand. He followed Dick out of the room and hoped that Mr. Wayne wouldn’t get upset.

Dick slowly opened the door to Bruce’s room and made his way over to the bed. “Psst! Bruce!”

“Hmm?” Bruce didn’t even move.

Dick was silent, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Would Bruce still not mind, even though it had been a long time since Dick had apparently come to him for comfort? “...Can we sleep with you?”

Bruce turned over and cracked an eye open. It softened at the sight of the two boys, and he sighed. “Nightmare?”

Dick nodded. “Both of us.”

Bruce opened his other eye and sat up. “You know you can always stay with me if you have nightmares. Does Tim need help up?”

Dick raised Tim for Bruce to take. He quickly climbed up and settled next to Tim, who became squished between Dick and Bruce. Dick would have liked to be the one next to Bruce, but he didn’t think Tim would want to be left alone, and he didn’t want to leave Tim on the edge. Tim needed Bruce just as much as he did, and Dick was willing to give up some comfort to make Tim happy.

Once the boys were settled, Bruce wrapped his arm around the two, remembering that it had always made Dick feel more secure. They soon fell asleep, and Bruce wasn’t far behind. It felt almost...peaceful, being able to care for Dick (and Tim) once again. He wanted them back to their original age, of course, but for just one night, it was nice.

 

* * *

 

It was not nice in the morning.

Bruce was the first to wake, mostly because he had felt a much larger body than he should have lying next to him. Bruce sat up quickly but quietly, so as not to wake whoever was next to him, and looked over.

The spell had worn off, making Dick and Tim adults again. Unfortunately, that meant they had grown out of their clothes, and were both currently naked.

At least they were under the blanket.

Bruce slowly climbed out of his bed and left the room. It was still early in the morning, so he hoped he could get clothes for them without anyone noticing. As much as it annoyed him, blackmail was a very prevalent thing in this family, and he was sure Jason (and maybe Stephanie, who was staying at the Manor while the boys were young) would be all too eager to take advantage of Dick and Tim’s current state.

On his way back to his room, he ran into Damian.

"Father." Damian's eyes darted to the pile of clothes in Bruce's arms. "What are you doing with those?"

Bruce sighed and hoped Damian would play nice. "The spell has worn off, and I thought they might appreciate some clothes."

Damian's eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you carrying them to your room?"

"Because that's where they are."

Damian quirked an eyebrow. "Why are they in your room? They have their own rooms, even as children."

Bruce sighed again. "They had nightmares last night. I used to let Dick stay in my room when he had a nightmare, so I let them stay."

"Why?"

"Why don't you ask Dick when he's awake. I should really get these clothes to them before they wake up."

Damian's eyes suddenly lit up, causing Bruce to groan internally. "That means that Drake—"

"—is naked and doesn't know it, yes." Bruce finished, rolling his eyes. "Please be nice, just this once. I would like to start my morning quietly."

"JASON, GET THE FUCK OUT!"

"I don't think you'll be having a quiet morning." Damian said eagerly as he ran towards Bruce's room. Bruce sighed once more and followed at a slower pace, if only to put off having to deal with the coming fight.

When he entered his room, he found Tim desperately struggling to hold onto the blanket covering him while Jason and Damian tried to rip it off. Jason had his phone out, ready to snap a picture at a moment't notice. Dick, meanwhile, was sitting in one of Bruce's chairs, looking worried for Tim but also bored with the fight. He _would_ help out, but he was also currently naked. Dick felt that standing and trying to help Tim would not help the situation.

"Enough!" All movement stopped at Bruce's outburst. Bruce threw some clothes at Tim, who caught them with one hand while using the other to keep a death grip on the blanket, and threw the rest at Dick, who caught them easily. While Dick got dressed, Tim, Jason, and Damian had still not moved.

"Jason. Damian. Out."

"But—"

" _Out_." Jason rolled his eyes and strolled out of the room. Damian threw a sneer at Tim before leaving, causing Tim to roll his eyes.

Tim let out a sigh of relief as soon as they were gone and Bruce had closed the door. "Thanks."

"Of course."

Tim quickly got dressed while Dick made his way over to Bruce.

"So, what exactly happened?" Dick asked.

"You don't remember?" Both Dick and Tim shook their heads.

"I remember chasing the jewelry thief." Tim said, his eyes drifting up as he tried to remember. "My memory after that is blank."

Dick nodded. "Same."

"It seems like we have a lot to talk about." Bruce frowned. "And a villain to catch." 

Bruce left the room. Dick and Tim glanced at each other and shrugged before following after him. As Bruce made his way to the Batcave, he only had one thought on his mind (besides determination to find the villain, of course).

Stephanie would be so disappointed that she missed the drama.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me requests or just message me at browniesarethebest.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any suggestions or prompts for me, feel free to send me some at browniesarethebest.tumblr.com


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